Sir Allen Stanford charged with fraud

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< 1 minute read

It’s funny when billionaires get told off.

It was good that Sir Allen Stanford inadvertently instilled a sense of responsibility into the West Indies team through encouraging them to prepare properly for the cashtastic Super Series, but it’s also good that he’s being charged with fraud, because he’s a billionaire and billionaires have always done something wrong.

We don’t know what he’s done exactly, but on the grounds of his ludicrous wealth alone, we feel that he deserves it. Whatever ‘it’ might be.

DON'T BE LIKE GATT!

Mike Gatting wasn't receiving the King Cricket email when he dropped that ludicrously easy chance against India in 1993.

Coincidence?

Why risk it when it's so easy to sign up?

16 comments

  1. On the radio last night Colin Croft inferred that many of them had chosen to “invest” their winnings with Mr Stanford’s organisation. Words fail me.

  2. Basically, what he’s (allegedly) done is to pretend some Certificates of Deposit (or CDs if you prefer – there’s certainly more comedy potential in the abbreviation) were a better investment than they in fact were – they turned out not be be insured by the FDIC.

    It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s made off (or, ahem Madoff) with the money, but it is a bit Arthur Daleyesque.

  3. Ged Ladd – I hope that’s true. If so it would be a hilarious end to the biggest abberation to hit the cricket world since Neil Smith opened the batting for England in the World Cup.

    KC – Good to see those silly defamation laws are still not holding you back.

  4. I liked Giles Clarke’s response:

    “Stanford? Fraud? No, really? I don’t believe it. He seemed like such a nice chap. I mean, we asked him if he was a fraud, and he said no, and what else were we supposed to do? He had all the bona fides – a nice suit, a big car, a suitcase full of cash. Resign? Why would I want to do that?”

  5. Stanford’s scheme allegedly involved an investment that returned more money the more apostrophes were used around the world. The scheme relied on unscrupulous individuals deliberately over-using apostrophes, thus inflating the returns. The hunt is on for the culprit’s.

  6. Ha, ha, nice call, Wolf – Sir Desmond Glazebrook. He must have been sitting around in my sub-conscious mind for twenty-odd years now, waiting for this moment to make an appearance as Giles Clarke. It’s perfect.

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